I felt my brain sluggish for a moment when I heard the doctor''s words. I opened my mouth and spoke for a long time: "How long can he live?"


    The doctor looked at me in surprise: "Little boy, how old are you?"


    I was angry and looked at the doctor seriously: "I ask, how long can Lao Ge live, what does it have to do with my age? I say again, I am Lao Ge''s only relative!"


    The doctor blinked and thought for a moment, then sighed: "I can only say that we will try our best, but you should notify the patient''s friends as soon as possible to help pick him up from the hospital."


    I jumped off the stool and walked out, feeling lost. Since my father got married, three relatives have died, my father, grandfather, and my second uncle. Now Lao Ge, who adopted me, is also critically ill. I clenched my fists and held back my tears. A wave of resentment surged in my heart. I walked into the ward and sat beside Lao Ge''s bed. Lao Ge was wearing an oxygen mask and was wearing testing instruments all over his body. He watched for several hours until he felt hungry at night and got up to eat a pack of instant noodles.


    While eating, Lao Ge''s fingers suddenly moved. I widened my eyes, hurriedly held Lao Ge''s hand, and called Lao Ge. Under the light, his eyelids slowly moved, and he opened his eyes to see me. He closed his eyes again. After several times, he finally woke up, but he still ignored me when I called him. I hurriedly called the doctor, who said that I could go home after a few more days. Then he told me that it would be best to ask Lao Ge''s friends to come home to help prepare for the funeral. The wounds of internal organ failure could not be seen on the surface.


    I nodded, and tears finally fell. For the family members, the most desperate thing was not that their family members were in the hospital, but that the hospital had given up treatment. I cried in the corridor for a long time, wiped my tears and returned to Lao Ge''s bed. Lao Ge looked at me, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if he wanted to talk.


    "Lao Ge, the doctor told you to rest more. We can go home in a few days." I paused and asked, "Do you have any friends? You are not in good health, and I am afraid I can''t move you. I will ask your friends to pick you up from the hospital and take good care of you at home."


    After I finished speaking, Lao Ge''s hands moved, and he slowly took off the oxygen mask, and his lips opened and closed: "Xiao Xi... let''s... go home."


    "Let''s go back in a few days." I touched Lao Ge''s head to comfort him.


    But unexpectedly, Lao Ge said: "Go... home to continue... life."


    I opened my eyes wide, and immediately thought of the day when Lao Ge led me into the underworld and I asked him what the underworld was. Lao Ge said that everything from catching and killing ghosts, continuing life and breaking souls to funerals and ghost marriages, and seeking wealth and directions are all called underworld affairs.


    Lao Ge reached out his hand, and seeing him pointing at the carving knife on my neck, he quickly took it off and handed it to him. Lao Ge trembled and put it on his chest with his hands, and then muttered: "Heaven grants my wish, the earth does not allow punishment, I dive three thousand feet, and take the fate of heaven to pay."


    After these four short sentences, Lao Ge''s face turned slightly rosy, and then he reached out and pulled out all the instruments on his body. Under the doctor''s dumbfounded expression, he personally handled the discharge procedures. Before leaving, he said to the doctor with contempt: "Quack."


    Although the voice was small, I saw the doctor''s face turn green in an instant. I looked at Lao Ge in disbelief. I didn''t expect that Lao Ge still had the mind to play tricks on people at this time.


    After returning home, Lao Ge personally contacted the kind-hearted person who helped us advance the money and paid it back. Everything seemed like a farce, but it really existed. On the third day, he bought a pig and a sheep, and at midnight he actually arrived at the forest where Granny Liu was. Lao Ge said that extending life is to take away the destiny of heaven. He borrowed the life of the earth from heaven with a carving knife and a spell, and he had to pay it back eventually. He borrowed it for one day and paid it back for one year, so he had to hurry up to extend his life, but extending life was different.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    The silence in the forest was terrifying. I followed Lao Ge and a cow and a sheep were slowly being pulled by Lao Ge. Lao Ge said that this was a sacrifice. Maybe these two animals knew their fate, so Lao Ge pulled them with great effort.


    The moonlight today was not as bright as that day. It was hairy and dim. The branches under my feet made a crackling sound. I tightly grasped Lao Ge''s sleeves and held the carving knife in my hand, fearing that Granny Liu, her granddaughter, and the aunt in bright yellow clothes would jump out and eat my yang energy.


    While comforting me and telling me not to be afraid, Lao Ge explained why we came here. Extending life is also called creating life. Creating life requires spiritual energy, so we must choose good mountains, rivers, dragon caves, sand and water. But where can we find good mountains and water in a short time? Lao Ge thought of this forest. Here, a mountain blocked the yin and yang. At this time, taking advantage of the hazy moon, we can vaguely see the yin mouth, just like a person''s eyes penetrate the yin and yang. Lao Ge said that generally, the transformation of corpses into ghosts is not based on age or years, but depends on the terrain. This place is a place to nourish yin. Any place that nourishes yin must have spiritual energy, which is a good place to extend life.


    I heard that my palms were sweating. I thought Lao Ge just wanted this forest, and any place would be fine, but I didn''t expect that he would turn over to the side of the yin mouth. My feet felt a little heavy. Lao Ge led the cattle and sheep in one hand and held a small box in the other. I followed behind. Although I was afraid, I didn''t retreat at all. I was just a little worried about how the cattle and sheep would turn over.


    It was not until we reached the foot of the mountain that Lao Ge stopped. He tied the cattle and sheep to a tree closest to the Yinkou, then took out the formation flags and copper bells and set up a formation in front of the cattle and sheep and at the foot of the mountain to the maximum extent. Lao Ge said that this was a small seven-star formation based on the Big Dipper. The seven-star formation was like a spoon, and then a lamp was placed on the "spoon". Lao Ge lit it with a match, and suddenly the surroundings were bright. There was wind at night, and the flame of the lamp swayed with the wind. It looked a bit like Will-o''-the-wisp, Lao Ge put his hand to his mouth and bit it, dripping on the lamp. The lamp didn''t move at all, and I exclaimed: "Strange."


    Lao Ge sighed: "Now this lamp is connected with my life. It is there when I am here, and it will go out when I die. The old saying that someone dies like a lamp goes out means this."


    After saying this, Lao Ge smiled and said that if you don''t die, you have a chance. The two of them hurriedly ran towards the direction of the Yinkou. Lao Ge''s words were deeply engraved in my heart: if you don''t die, you have a chance.


    When we arrived at the Yinkou, a cool breeze suddenly blew. I shivered and tightened my clothes. Looking down, it was pitch black.


    "Xiao Xi, follow me later." Lao Ge took out five talismans from the box, "Last time you said you saw three zombies?"


    I nodded, and Lao Ge stuffed the talismans into my hand: "If you see them, stick them on them. Do you remember the carving knife spell I taught you?"


    "Remember." I held the talisman and carving knife tightly in my hand, and my voice was firm. As for my heart, there was only one thought: Lao Ge can''t die.


    Seeing my determination, Lao Ge wiped his tears and walked down with firm steps. I followed him. Lao Ge didn''t look back. After going down the vagina, I suddenly felt a chill on the back of my neck. I turned back suddenly, but there was nothing, but the hair on my body told me that it was not that simple. Lao Ge stopped, opened the box and set up a seven-star formation, then put a lamp in and lit it, dripped blood, and the wick also lit steadily. After packing up, I continued to move forward.


    Suddenly, a hand reached out from my right shoulder and clasped my shoulder tightly. The hands with long and dry nails made me tremble all over: "Xiao Xi, we meet again, child."


    "Aunt...." This voice was not Granny Liu''s voice, but that aunt. I turned back quickly with trembling, stuck the talisman in my hand on her body, and then ran away. Lao Ge went to the front to find the location of the formation. It can be seen that he was some distance away from me. I stopped, swallowed and turned back. She was wearing a bright yellow shroud with loose hair and an extremely pale face. She was motionless after being stuck with the talisman, but her eyes were bulging and she stared at me fiercely. I gritted my teeth, raised the carving knife, and said tremblingly: "Heaven has permanence, earth has its own way, ghosts are impermanent, heaven and earth cannot tolerate them!"


    The body in the bright yellow shroud began to tremble, leaving two blood marks on the pale face, followed by the nostrils. The bronze carving knife kept vibrating, which made my right hand numb, and the talisman on the handle became hotter and hotter.


    With a bang, the woman in the bright yellow shroud fell down, and the carving knife immediately quieted down, but my legs began to shake like dice, and there was a warmth between my legs... I pursed my lips in embarrassment... Uh...


    "Xiao Xi!" Lao Ge called me, and walked closer and closer until he was in front of me. When he saw the female ghost, he showed an incredible look, "Oh my God, it was solved, it''s incredible, how is it possible?"


    Lao Ge''s doubts were louder than the words, and finally he suddenly sniffed hard and laughed out loud: "Frightened to pee your pants?