Grandpa always gave heeding on certain trees hosting demons or negative spirits. Dad was usually skeptical, but Grandpa always turned out to be right. This particular tree demon resonated with Dad the most, because it was one of the last warnings that his father gave to him before he passed away.
As I have mentioned before, Grandfather knew that he was going to leave this physical world during a battle in the Vietnam War. He gathered all his family and his disciples for a meeting.
"This time, I have a feeling that I won't be coming home. I will either endure a severe injury or it will be my death" Grandpa informed everyone.
"But Thầy*, if you KNOW you're going to die during this battle then just don't go!" begged one of his disciples.
"It is the will of the universe. It is my time to go; my death is just part of a big change happening for this country. After I'm gone, the war will finally be over, and this land will quiet down once again. If I stay here, what if I die sitting on the toilet? Please let me go to battle and die with dignity," Grandpa pleaded.
Grandfather gave his last words to each person. He told my grandmother to not sell the house and the land. In 15 years, the property will be fruitful and the value will have increased greatly. Sure enough, 15 years later, the value of that land was raised and Grandmother was able to make a good fortune selling it.
Grandfather warned Dad of a powerful demon that resided in a rubber tree a few blocks down from their house. There was a grove of rubber trees lining the dirt road to their town. Grandfather pointed out that it was the last tree.
"That demon has been there for quite some time. It's been staying quiet because it knows I'm here. But once I'm gone, it will become active and start wreaking havoc in this area. Listen carefully to my instructions" explained Grandpa. He proceeded to tell Dad that if and when the rubber tree demon starts acting up, he must go to Grandpa's altar, and release all the spirit generals from their urns. They will take care of it.
Off to the War Grandfather went. In the spring of 1975, 25 days after Tết**, my grandfather suffered a fatal gunshot wound during that battle.
On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell and the free people of Vietnam lost our country to communism.
Dad was drafted into bootcamp, called nim phông. It was like a military work camp where young men were mandated to work heavy labor for cheap pay and scraps of food. I cannot even fathom the suffering my father went through during this period of his life, but I know he still carries those scars because he always sends our family members off to work by packing us extra food; he never wants us to suffer as he had.
Dad was away for several months at a time. When he returned, he took his usual route home, the road of the rubber trees grove. A few minutes after entering the road, Dad noticed that the weeds had grown sky high, towering several feet over him and he couldn't get a clear view of the surrounding land. He also felt a cold chill along his spine. Then it suddenly hit him.
That last tree on the grove is where the demon lives, his father had told him. It seemed that the entire grove was cut down, save for that last rubber tree.
Oh shit, oh shit! thought Dad. He started walking fast as he could and rapidly mumbled prayers the whole way home. When he arrived at the house, Grandma immediately interrogated him.
"When did you come home? Which route did you take?" she asked, concerned.
"I took the rubber tree grove way," Dad replied casually.
"WHAT?! WHY DID YOU TAKE THAT ROAD??? THE RUBBER TREE DEMON- IT'S BECOME ACTIVE!" Grandmother shrieked. Dad's sisters bustled in and expressed their concerns as well.
"How am I supposed to know that? I've been away for months!" replied Dad.
"Ever since your father passed, the demon has been acting up. Two people have been found dead on that road in the past couple months! No one is using that road, it's been abandoned," Grandma explained.
"Didn't Dad say something about how to get rid of the demon?" Dad asked.
"I don't know! I don't recall him telling me anything! He said a lot of stuff and I don't remember exactly what to do!" Grandma cried.
"Yeah, he showed me to open these urns on the altar. He said to let all his Spirit Generals go free and they'll fend off the demon." Dad pointed out. He didn't take it very seriously when his father had showed him what to do with the urns, but it turns out that Dad has a photographic memory. He recalls exactly which urns to open and in which order. I have a strong feeling that Grandpa knew this about Dad, that's why he had left the verbal instructions with him instead of anyone else. So, Dad followed the instructions and set the Spirit Generals free. After that, no more horror incidents occurred in the area, the negative energy of the demon dissipated, and things went back to normal on the rubber tree grove road.
There's another fun story about a different tree demon, that shall be told another time. This story called out to be told first, and I didn't plan to talk about my grandfather's death in this post, but it ended up happening naturally.
There's not really enough words I can say to describe how incredible my grandfather was. In his shamanistic practice, he was an herbal/eastern medicine man, he was an exorcist, a fortune teller, an energy healer, among many other abilities. He was a martial arts instructor. He helped countless people, whether they be alive, dead, transitioning, or stuck. He was a captain in the military, fighting for his country. He was a great husband and father, and although he never got to meet his grandchildren, he left my dad four protection charms- for his four unborn grandchildren. Even though Grandpa left this world when my dad was only 16, and I never got the chance to meet him, I feel like I know him, and I'm sure he is always watching over us and protecting us.
* Teacher or Master
** Lunar New Year
