Zhao Laohei threw a scowl at me, letting my words fall away like leaves in the wind. "This is no time for jokes Xiao Yong. Step aside."

He moved his feet in the conjuration steps and tried again. Once more nothing happened.

I gritted my teeth against the possible backlash and said, "Uncle Zhao, seriously let me try. This is the best time! We don't want to miss it."

"And I can finally see if I have the power too!" I thought to myself.

Zhao Laohei tried once again, dropping his hands to his sides in defeat when nothing happened. With a half-hearted shrug, he handed the peach wood sword to me. The blade glistened in the sun as I wrapped my hands around the hilt. He very quickly taught me the footwork and what to say.

I'd seen the footwork time and time again, and had even practiced it in my room for fun before. When Zhao Laohei saw my feet fall into step with ease he gave a slight smile. "No wonder Master Liu claimed you as a godson. You're quite talented."

"Can I wear the frock too?" I asked.

He looked down on me with light surprise. "I show my ancestors respect when I wear this frock." He looked me in the eye, "If you truly respect your ancestors, I think you'll be okay without it."

I nodded and let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding in. Cycling through the air around us, I felt nervousness flutter around me.

I motioned for Zhao Laohei to step away and began the ritual. Mustering the best impression of Master Liu, I shouted, "Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, I command you! Begin!"

The space around me, everything fell silent. Zhao Jie and Shang Haoming were staring at me with admiration. At the base of the mountain, the crowd of adults shifted and stirred.

The locust trees around us absorbed my words, taking them in and giving back nothing. "Is that it?" I thought.

Zhao Laohei shook his head and said, "Xiao Yong, don't feel bad. You're still very young."

"No." I said without thought. "I don't believe it. Let me try again, I have an idea." I looked at him. "This time I'll invite a god."

"A god?" Zhao Laohei asked in surprise.

I nodded. "Master Liu taught me."

Zhao Laohei gazed at me incredulously, but took a step back. I repeated my breathing cycle and raised the peach wood sword in my left hand. I moved my right hand in the Taoist ritual and murmured the incantation Master Liu once taught me.

A cold wind flitted over the mountain as soon as I began. The candles flickered erratically, but stayed lit. I felt a grasping pull of Yin air surround me. A presence filled my mind, like blinding light that warmed me. I gasped as a constant heat pulsed into every inch of me. The words that came from my mouth were not my own, "Is it you again?"

My skin broke out in goose bumps and a blackness threatened to overwhelm my mind. The presence pulsed with power.

"Little boy." I said. It said. "You should not call on me for your silly games."

Zhao Laohei was gaping at the voice that resonated out of me. His mouth hung open in disbelief. Xiao Yong and Shang Haoming stood behind him, mirroring the awe on his face. "Why is his voice different?" Shang Haoming whispered.

Zhao Laohei hushed him.

My body turned at the direction of the power coursing through me. Eyes that I could see through, but not control focused on Wang Chunmei as she lay by the altar. My mouth opened and the power began speaking. "There is a Red ghost within this girl. Is that why you've called me? You simple mortals."

I watched as my body moved closed to the girl. Wang Chunmei watched me approach and began to shake. The crying shriek of a baby filled the mountain air. It was a begging cry and filled with fear.

"Wait!" I cried, the voice now my own. "I don't want to hurt the spirit, only send it away!" The power in my body moved us another step towards Wang Chunmei. A course of red power flashed over my eyes, blinding me for a moment. "You're a Red Ghost too." I thought, straining my mind to communicate with the power within me.

"And?" The voice said, now only to me.

"The baby spirit is a Red Ghost. If you two fight then you'll be evenly matched! AndTaoism isn't about fighting!" I felt my forehead crinkle with frustration. Zhao Laohei and my friends stared on at me, unaware of the silent conversation.

"Your thoughts are clear to me, boy. Speak them now or I shall return to my peace."

"I invited you here to help me begin the religious rite, not to fight with this spirit." A bolt of panic shot through my head. What if it doesn't listen? "I brought you here with a Taoist ritual to make a Taoist contract! You have to listen to me, I can send the other spirit away!"

A vacuum of silence filled my head for only a moment. What replaced it was a booming laugh that filled my head and echoed out of my open mouth. "You want to do it alone, eh?" The voice said.

"Mortals are so interesting. Fine, I will help you." It paused. "For the contract."

The panic struck again. "The contract, yeah." I thought, now aware of sweat beading down my face.

The voice whispered in my mind. "From now on, when you seek a spirit to help you. It will be me. Only me. Always me." The voice lowered and sank in deeper until I could feel the presence pounding behind my eyes.

Before I could consider the offer, the power within moved my hands into a Taoist symbol murmuring a complicated incantation. My mouth unhinged and the voice spoke, "It is done."

The voice lowered once more and whispered into my mind. "From this day. I will be your ghost spirit and you will be my mortal." The words sank into me with unfathomable weight. "You should be grateful, little boy."

It went on, "When you call me into your body, you will have access to my supernatural air for a few minutes at a time. Shall we begin?"

I shook back into myself, realizing that I had control of my body again. "Yes, thank you." I whispered. I raised the sword again and repeated the ritual process. As my foot fell on the final step, I shouted, "Begin!"

A whirlwind of frozen air swirled around the altar, Wang Chunmei, and myself. The girl began to writhe and squirm on the ground before me. A red smoke lifted and swirled from her eyes, nostrils, and mouth. The smoke pulled into a roughened shape above her.

The smoke formed into the child we'd seen. It wore split pants and a tiger cap. Snot was running down its face, but all the decay we'd seen before was gone.

Behind the ghost, my friends all stepped back in fear. Zhao Laohei gasped audibly to my left. He swallowed loudly and praised, "I can't believe it Xiao Yong! You're Taoism is so powerful!"

A smile that wasn't mine grew on my face. "Okay, it's time to go." I thought to the spirit within me. As if expressing its approval, the power nodded my head and flowed out of me. The warmth vanished and left behind a vacuum of frigid loneliness. My knees buckled below me. Hands appeared beneath my armpits and all of a sudden Zhao Laohei was the only thing keeping me from acquainting myself with the dirt.

He set me down gently and took the peach wood sword from my hand. "You did very well, Xiao Yong. You got us started. It's my turn now. Go to Xiao Jie."

I stood on shaking legs and wobbled around the spirit to where Zhao Jie was. I whispered to Shang Haoming, "Do you still have the stone I gave you?" He nodded. "Wave it at the little ghost and say, 'follow me'."

Shang Haoming stared at the red shadow, unmoving.

"Shang Haoming!" Zhao Laohei shouted, still waving his arms in the ritual.

Shang Haoming snapped to life, but didn't move. "Uncle Zhao, I I can't! " He shouted.

Zhao Laohei scowled from across the altar. The spirit followed his hands in their movements. Zhao Jie put his arm around my shoulder and hoisted me up. "You are so good." He said, grinning. "Let's help out."

Although I had no strength left, I lifted my hand with Zhao Jie and we gave Shang Haoming a shove in his big meaty side. He came to life with a grunt.

As if rebooted, Shang Haoming raised the stone and followed directions. He beckoned the spirit with his other hand and repeated, "Follow me," over and over again. The spirit turned from Zhao Laohei and began lilting towards Shang Haoming. It staggered on the ground past Wang Chunmei's unmoving body.

Shang Haoming's face paled and he started to back away from the spirit faster. His legs bunched as if he'd sprint away any second, but Zhao Laohei rushed around the prone girl and grabbed his shoulder. "If you run," He whispered into Shang Haoming's ear, "It will attack you. Listen to me! You lead the ghost and follow me." He pointed into the trees behind us. "We're going to its grave."

Zhao Laohei finished with a reassuring squeeze on Shang Haoming's shoulder. He walked along the mountain road to the valley we'd found. Shang Haoming followed him, walking backwards and guiding the spirit, which was now walking along the road like a lost little boy. I went with the others, dragging the unconscious Wang Chunmei down the road on her stretcher. When we got to the trees the path had already been cleared.

At the edge of the forest, I asked Zhao Laohei, "Uncle Zhao, should we come too?"

Zhao Laohei called from the front of the line, "Yes. Untie the girl and rouse her! She'll need help, but she should be present as well!"

Zhao Jie and I did so, shaking the girl by her shoulder until her eyes flickered open.

As I expected, now that the spirit had left her, she awoke. Her eyes shone a dull brown that was glossed with confusion. She peered around at us and said, "Did...did it leave?"

I nodded, afraid to shock her. Tears filled her eyes, replacing the dullness with a shiny desperate sadness. "It was horrible." She said quietly. "I could only watch as itit" A sob racked her body.

Zhao Jie embraced her in an awkward hug and I pointed at the crimson shadow ahead of us. "It's about to leave. We're sending it away. Will you come with us? We need you."

Wang Chunmei looked between the two of us, found the ghost in the trees ahead and shuddered. Zhao Jie held her hand in his. She looked at him again and nodded. "You saved me." She said and got to her feet.

The three of us walked, Zhao Jie and I helping Wang Chunmei. We staggered after the ghost, following the others down into the valley.

A mound of dirt rose from the forest ahead of us. "We'll be safe as soon as it's over." I said, hoping to sound confident. "No running this time."

"No." Zhao Jie said, huffing from the other side of Wang Chunmei. "Not this time."